


i wish i knew you when i was young

by santiagoswagger, startofamoment



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, hilarity and fluff ensue, jake crashes a santiago wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 10:12:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/santiagoswagger/pseuds/santiagoswagger, https://archiveofourown.org/users/startofamoment/pseuds/startofamoment
Summary: Jake makes the mistake of crashing a Santiago family wedding, and Amy isn't about to let him get away with it.





	1. Chapter 1

Amy wasn’t sure how she got conned into wearing the ruffled, purple monstrosity currently stuck to her body, but she was already counting down the hours until she could take it off and shove it in the back of her closet for good. She loved Elena and was thrilled to have her join the family, but the bridesmaid’s dress she had forced Amy and five of her friends to wear down the aisle was bad. Looking around the tasteful Midtown hotel ballroom she was currently standing in, Amy had to admit that the dress was the only glaring misstep in an otherwise magical wedding. 

The circular tables scattered around the room were adorned with tall crystal vases filled with white roses, each chair was delicately draped with lavender silk and tuxedo-clad waiters were passing trays of bubbly champagne through the chattering crowd of guests – only the best for her youngest brother and his new bride. 

It was hard to believe Luis was married. He was twenty-four now but Amy still saw him as her baby brother, climbing trees and catching frogs in their New Jersey backyard. Nearly every single relative she had spoken to at the reception thus far had grabbed her hand sympathetically and asked her how she was holding up now that her youngest brother was experiencing the miracle of marriage and she was at the wedding without a date. All she could do was gulp down her champagne and try not to scowl, skillfully steering the conversation to her career and the fact that she was set to take the sergeant’s exam in a few months’ time. 

Going to any wedding as a single woman was difficult, even more so when that woman was in her thirties; everyone expected her to have it all figured out by now. It wasn’t as if Amy always loved being alone, especially on nights like tonight, but she was not about to settle down because society dictated she should. She went on plenty of dates but she had yet to meet anyone that really challenged her, that made her want to be a better version of herself, that truly understood her. Elena and Luis had found that, her parents had found that, and she knew she would too – someday. 

Amy grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter as she surveyed the reception. Her eyes roamed past the crowded bar before she spotted a man she’d never seen before standing next to one of the circular dining tables scattered throughout the ballroom. He was wearing a rumpled suit and a sheepish expression as he looked furtively around the room. Amy was immediately intrigued. On closer inspection, she noticed that the table he was standing next to was missing its crystal and white rose-filled centerpiece. It didn’t take a genius to realize the stranger had knocked it over and was now trying to cover his tracks. Amy watched him bend down to the floor and try to scoop up pieces of the vase and flower fragments before someone caught on to his mishap.

He seemed to be at the wedding alone, or at least it didn’t look like he had a partner in crime at first glance. Amy didn’t recognize him but she didn’t know every single one of Elena’s friends or family members so it was possible he had been at the crowded church service earlier in the evening. Amy hadn’t noticed him until now so it seemed unlikely – she was good with faces; it was part of what made her such a good detective. Those detective skills were amplified tenfold as she watched the stranger. She looked around the room to see if Luis and Elena’s very unorganized wedding planner had noticed the disturbance but she was in the middle of what looked like a loud and unpleasant conversation with the DJ. Amy rolled her eyes and decided to take it upon herself to investigate the incident. If anything, she wanted to take care of the situation before Elena found out; the vases had been rented and the company had made it very clear that Elena and Louis would pay for any damage to the crystal. She would find out eventually but Amy wanted to make sure she was blissfully unaware tonight.

She stalked over towards the table in her too-tall silver heels, glass of champagne in hand. The man looked up in time to see her storming his way and his eyes widened in horror. 

Amy reached her destination and fixed the stranger before her with her best interrogation glare. “Did you just knock over a very expensive crystal centerpiece?”

He looked startled that she had gotten straight to the point and his eyes circled the room to see if there was anyone nearby who could save him from her wrath before moving them back to her. “Um, no?” 

Amy looked down at the crystal shards littering the ground and the rose petals stuffed in his hands before looking back at him with raised eyebrows. As she expected, he cracked immediately. 

He sighed and placed the floral wreckage he had gathered on the table. “Yes, I knocked over a vase but I swear, it was an accident.” His hands gesticulated wildly as he spoke, attempting to convey his innocence. 

Amy only cocked her head in response. 

The man rolled his head back and he bounced on his feet a few times, almost like he was steeling himself for something. He took a deep breath and said, “There was a bee in one of the flowers.” He said it so slowly and quietly, Amy almost didn’t hear him. 

When her brain finally processed his words, she had to stop herself from snorting. “A bee? Indoors? At night?”

The stranger’s face contorted in frustration, his lips closed tightly and his jaw clenched. “It’s true! I’m allergic to bees, so I panicked and the vase was just in the line of fire.” 

Amy stared at him for a moment; she didn’t know who he was or what he was doing at her brother’s wedding, but she did believe him. His bee story was too specific and embarrassing to be a lie. 

She sighed. “Okay, fine. Let me find someone to clean this up.” 

Amy looked around and caught the eye of Luis and Elena’s wedding planner, who it seemed had finally finished her argument with the DJ, and gestured her over. She took one look at the remains of the centerpiece on the carpet and Amy thought she was going to have a stroke. They eventually found a hotel maintenance worker who retrieved his broom and cleaned up the mess in no time. 

When the situation had been contained and Elena was still none the wiser, Amy turned to the vase destroyer. He looked ashamed of himself and Amy almost felt bad for him. She decided to take pity on him and start a real conversation, one that didn’t involve property damage or killer bees. 

“So, how do you know the bride and groom?” 

The shameful look on his face quickly morphed into one of guilt. “Oh, um, I don’t?” 

Amy cocked her head and squinted at him in disbelief. “Wait, were you not invited to this wedding?” The last thing her brother and sister-in-law needed tonight was an actual wedding crasher. 

He seemed to have finally been stunned into silence, but that didn’t last nearly long enough. Before Amy could ask him to leave the ballroom, a booming voice interrupted her interrogation. 

“PERALTA!” 

Amy looked around for the culprit and spotted her brother Anton running in their direction, red-faced and sweaty from dancing and alcohol. For a brief moment, Amy wondered if Anton was going to kick the crasher out but discovered she was sorely mistaken when he threw his arms around him in a crushing bear hug instead. 

“You know him?” she asked incredulously. 

Her brother turned to look at her in surprise with one arm still around the wedding crasher’s shoulders, as if just now realizing she was standing there. “Ames, this is Peralta! You’ve heard me talk about him before. He’s the prankster on my detectives’ squad!” 

Damn it, she had heard Anton talk about a guy at his precinct named Peralta. From what she remembered, he was always disobeying his Captain’s orders and refusing to wear a tie in blatant disregard for NYPD regulations. Anton thought he was hilarious but Amy had always thought he sounded like an idiot. She felt justified in those thoughts looking at him now with a rose petal nestled in his hair and what looked like an old gummy worm sticking out of the breast pocket of his suit. 

Anton turned back to Peralta. “It’s good to see you, buddy! I thought you were lying when you said your cousin’s bar mitzvah was in the same hotel as my brother’s wedding, but here you are!” He paused and gasped, struck with a brilliant idea. “You should stay for a while and hang out with us!”

Peralta’s eyes went wide and he shook his head imperceptibly. “Oh no, I just stopped by to say hi but I should really get going.” He started to extract himself from Anton’s death grip to leave before Anton gripped harder. 

“Come on, man! Have some drinks with us. It’s our brother’s wedding!”

Peralta looked like all he wanted to do was bolt, but he looked from Amy to her brother and back before nodding in surrender. 

Anton cheered and raised his half-empty beer bottle in the air in celebration before walking back towards the dance floor where he and the other groomsmen had been holding court all night. “Yes, that’s what I like to hear! Ames, get this guy a drink!” 

Peralta looked at Amy and raised his eyebrows in silent question. She nodded her head slightly and sighed before turning around and stalking towards the bar on the other side of the ballroom. She couldn’t believe the wedding crasher and vase killer had ended up being a welcome guest of Anton’s. 

Amy reached the line for the bar in a huff, Peralta close behind at her heels. She turned around to find herself practically nose-to-nose with him. Her eyes immediately and unintentionally locked with his but she found it frustratingly difficult to look away; now that he wasn’t a potential wrench in her brother’s wedding, she saw a flicker of compassion in him that she hadn’t seen before. If he was as great of a cop as her brother always claimed, he couldn’t be all that bad. He was definitely immature, though – Anton’s stories made that abundantly clear and she hadn’t yet seen any evidence to the contrary. 

He cleared his throat, shattering the moment, and stepped back to give her space. “Sorry, I was just trying to keep up with you.” He smirked, the right side of his mouth turned up, and she felt her heart flutter in complete betrayal of her perfectly logical brain. 

Amy glowed happily, pleased she had outpaced him. “I read once that powerful people don’t wait for others to catch up. I’ve been speed walking ever since.” 

Peralta laughed outright at that. “I couldn’t believe you were Santiago’s sister before when you were yelling at me, but I definitely do now. I mean, the way he talks about you it’s like you’re a lady Hulk or something.” 

Amy’s face scrunched up. “A ‘lady Hulk’?” 

Peralta backtracked immediately, perhaps recognizing that comparing a woman to a giant, green monster wasn’t necessarily the highest form of flattery. “No, no! I just mean that you’re strong and badass, and I think that’s awesome.” He paused and his tone became reverent. “Is it true that you once reached into a perp’s mouth to get her keys?”

Amy felt herself smile widely. “She was trying to swallow evidence! I had to!”

Peralta burst into laughter and Amy joined him, moving side-by side in the slow-moving line until they were nearly at the front of the bar 

“Anton talks about you too, you know. I’ve heard lots of stories, Peralta,” she teased him. 

His eyes lit up and he intensified his gaze on her as he said, “First, call me Jake.” Amy felt her eyes widen in surprise, but she nodded slightly, refusing to give his words more thought. “And two, I am the stuff of legend, Lady Santiago. Tales of my bravery are told all across this fine city.”

All she could do was snort. “Cool it, Robin Hood. Anton’s definitely obsessed with you but mostly with your pranks. He told me you tricked someone into drinking his own goldfish once.” Her face twisted with disgust and she shuddered.

Jake’s face took on a fond, far-away look. “Oh yes, a Hitchcock classic.”

Just then, they reached the front of the bar and ordered – she traded in her now-empty champagne flute for a whiskey sour and he selected a beer. Drinks in hand, they made their way to a wooden high-top table in a secluded corner of the room. They could see the entire ballroom from this vantage point but they could still hide fairly well from Anton, who was now trying to start a conga line in the middle of the dance floor to no avail. 

Amy let him take a few sips of his beer before fixing him with her interrogation glare once again. He looked bemused. “Be honest with me, did you really come here to say hi to Anton?”

Jake chuckled. “I say hi to all my fans, Santiago.”

His voice took on the tone of an action star again but Amy was a good enough detective that she could tell it was all a façade. She fixed him with a disbelieving stare, letting him know she could see right through him. 

He sighed and took a big swig of his beer, droplets of water from the bottle falling onto the table as he drank. “Your brother’s awesome and he’s always talking about how awesome is family is, so I guess I wanted to see what you guys were like.” He shrugged. “I’ve always wanted a big family.” 

Amy wasn’t sure how to respond so she just nodded and allowed him a small, close-lipped smile. He smiled back. 

They drank in silence for a few moments, watching Luis and Elena slow dancing together among the crowd on the dance floor. They looked so happy and in love, completely unaware of the crowd weaving around them. 

Amy moved to look at Jake, who was watching the couple with a wistfulness she wouldn’t have pictured him capable of when she saw him with the demolished centerpiece just a half hour previously. She studied him curiously, her gaze piercing enough that he felt it and turned towards her. 

They looked at each other for a moment before she asked the question she’d wanted to ask since she saw her brother throw his arms around him. She knew her brother and she knew he was a good judge of character, but it was hard to reconcile that fact with his stories of Jake’s ridiculous antics over the years. 

“In all the stories I’ve heard from Anton, you come off like this fun, carefree guy who loves attention and hates rules. It just – it doesn’t seem like all the bureaucracy that comes with being a police officer would be something you’d be into.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m wondering why you decided to become a cop?”

He chuckled silently, looking down at his scuffed shoes as he spoke. “I always wanted to be John McClane, I guess, ever since I was a little kid. I wanted to shoot a gun and take out the bad guys while running from an explosion.” He paused and met her gaze. “And I did run from an explosion once and it was the best day of my life, so mission accomplished.” Amy laughed and he smiled gleefully at her before continuing. “But I also want to help people and make them feel safe, or whatever, you know?” He scratched the back of his neck and looked down at the floor again. 

Amy stared at him, letting his words linger in the air. They weren’t elegant or perfect, but they were real. Jake Peralta would not stop surprising her. “Yeah, I do know.”

He brought his eyes back up to hers and nodded, a slow smile slipping into place. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to stop herself anyway. 

They sipped their drinks in silence as another ballad blared through the DJ’s speakers. The silence was comfortable, as though a solid barrier between them had been broken. Amy couldn’t help but sneak glances at the man standing next to her, a man who had destroyed rented glassware and called her a lady Hulk in the span of less than an hour but seemed to reveal a new layer of himself every time they spoke. She liked each new layer more and more. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t even see him sneaking glances at her too. 

He took one last swig of his beer and placed the empty bottle down on the wooden table in front of them. He cleared his throat nervously, startling her from her thoughts. 

“Would you maybe want to dance?” He looked like a nervous thirteen year-old boy at his first junior high dance and Amy felt so endeared to him. 

She smiled and took his hand, silently leading him to the dance floor. As he placed his hands on her ruffled, purple waist and looked into her eyes, Amy thought again about meeting her match someday, the person who would challenge her, inspire her to be better, understand her. As they swayed together to a cheesy ballad, she couldn’t help but feel like someday was soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, the idea of Jake as a wedding crasher wouldn't leave my brain so I decided it write it down. I feel like this is definitely something he's done at some point in his life, right? I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway! Big thanks to @startofamoment for yelling about this AU with me and giving me tons of advice. You're the best!
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @santiagoswagger :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HARK! The mini chapter no one asked for, in which @startofamoment hijacks this AU (with permission) and does some extra world building!!

Jake’s not obsessed with her per se. _No_ , he’s definitely not crashing this wedding in yet another attempt to meet her.

Really, he _just_ thinks she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. The (not always brief) glimpses he’s had of her from the framed photos on Anton’s desk and from random pictures on social media have solidified this thought; Amy looks like a mermaid in every single one of them.

But also, she’s amazing and impressive and so, so badass – or at least that’s what he’s gathered from all of her brother’s stories. With each new anecdote, he’s felt the growing desire to talk to her face to face, if only to high-five her over her last big arrest. (And maybe to make out with her, but that’s entirely her decision and he first has to ask her out _for realz_.)

It’s complicated, of course. Because it’s not like he can just straight-up ask Anton to set him up with his younger sister. He’s seen how intense the other detective can get in the interrogation room, and he’d really rather not be on the receiving end of his scrutinizing gaze. (He’s also heard stories about Anton’s six brothers, and he’s not entirely sure he could take on all the Santiagos if they caught wind of his little crush.)

Without a proper in, it’s been nothing but a series of almosts over the last few years. They could’ve met when Anton was awarded the Medal of Valor, although Jake was out of town for a case at that time. They nearly met at that one cross-precinct party, except he had been more than fashionably late and she had already left because of her early start the next morning. The closest they had gotten to meeting was when Amy had walked into the bullpen to drop off something for her brother, but Jake had been called into his captain’s office to get scolded for his most recent prank-gone-wrong… It’s all felt like a giant missed connection of sorts, even if they’ve technically never been at the same place at the same time.

Needless to say, it seemed like the stars aligned when it turned out the receptions for his cousin’s bar mitzvah and the youngest Santiago’s wedding was in the exact same hotel. He’d gone and sprung for the three-button jacket, figuring the extra $8 was nothing compared to getting a shot with the girl of his dreams. He’d even rehearsed at least nine varyingly-cool ways to introduce himself, wanting nothing but to put his best foot forward.

Of course, the universe hates him, so Amy’s first impression of him is as a bee-phobic, vase-killing, wedding crasher. _Of course._

Later, when he musters up the courage to ask her to dance, he thinks that all the maybes were worth it, for this one definite yes. And when her lips meld against his a few weeks after that, he makes a mental note to thank whoever booked the venue of that fateful event.

He wonders, in hindsight, whether Anton had been setting them up all along, because it turns out that Amy’s heard as much about him as he had of her. (His suspicions are confirmed in a couple of years, when the detective drunkenly delivers his best man speech in the middle of the same ballroom they first _finally_ met at.)


End file.
